Is a 'Star Wars' movie still a 'Star Wars' movie if it's released in December?

I tried to get Disney to comment on the possibility of a Christmas release date last week when word first started to leak, and of course, they've said nothing. I'm still trying to find someone to back up the reports, and I've had no luck doing so. I'll say this, though… it makes sense. That seven month difference changes the entire cycle of when things are revealed, and it also means that Disney will be able to do another D23 Expo before the film comes out, making that next D23 the one where they had better kick out the jams in terms of selling "Star Wars" as a Disney brand.

If Christmas 2015 (I specifically heard December 23 from one person, a date which falls on a Wednesday in 2015) is indeed the target release date, it gets the film away from Disney's other biggest film that year, "The Avengers: Age Of Ultron," which has been announced for May. It seemed odd that Disney would cannibalize their own mega-blockbuster with another mega-blockbuster aimed as ostensibly the exact same audience, and now it looks like they're poised to own both of the big holiday seasons with gigantic event movies.

Sounds like Devin's got more than one source on this, and if they are aiming at December, they're going to have to start pinning things down very soon in order to make that date. They have Pinewood stages reserved for the next decade or more, an amazing bit of confidence on their part.

What I'm most curious about is how fandom handles the news. Taken individually, movie fans are lovely. Taken as a faceless mass called "fandom" they tend to be reactionary and they get more hung up on superficial details than Raymond Babbit trying to pick an airline. It's already going to require heavy tranquilizers and months of hypnotherapy to get fandom comfortable with a "Star Wars" movie that doesn't open with the 20th Century Fox fanfare (I actually had one angry "Star Wars" fan ask me why Disney just doesn't license the Fox fanfare for the sake of continuity), so asking them to also make sense of a December release date may be that one little change that finally makes them snap.

We'll see. As of now, this is still not official, but it sounds like more and more people are being given that as the timetable.

A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.

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For the most part, people seem to be taking it well, particularly because they recognize how packed Summer 2015 is for tentpole and franchise films.

Personally, I'd rather they hold it off until May 2016 (May really does feel like Star Wars time) and take their time to get the film right. But I'm not sweating either date. Pushing it from the summer, though, is a smart move.

I wouldn't say they are full of crap. I think Devin is one of the best and non-full of crap online journalists. He always states that they're rumor unlike say, Latino Review who claims that it's all 100% fact and will happen.

These rumors all start from somewhere and while I don't think that JJ was ever leaving, they're easily could have discussions about that release date and his concerns over meeting it.

I'm agreeing with MOMO on this one! Devin wasn't even CLOSE to being right about JJ quitting, and yet he ran with it. Personally, I'm VERY disappointed that Drew ran with it. When I saw other websites cover it, I said, I'll be HitFix doesn't! They have higher standards! Nope! They don't!

I just re-read the report that Devin ran (link below) and he continually reiterates that it's a rumour about the possibility not a fact that Abrams was leaving. Also, in the same report he states that the reasoning for potentially leaving was due to the tight deadline. If they end up moving the release date wouldn't they leave more credence to the rumor? That Disney would rather move the date then loose Abrams?

Until I read this, I hadn't even thought about e idea of a Star Wars movie opening without the 20th Century Fox fanfare. While it won't have much impact on the quality of the movie, it will be very jarring. I tend to think of that as the Star Wars fanfare at times rather than the Fox fanfare simply because of first being exposed to it that way. Plus it flows into the Williams theme perfectly. Like I said, it will be jarring. That's silly, I know but it is what it is.

I feel the same way about the gunbarrel opening of the James Bond films being conspicuously absent from the three Daniel Craig movies to date...the films just feel "off" without that iconic opening. I certainly hope that Bond 24 will restore the gunbarrel to its proper place.

At least it makes sense why there won't be a 20th Century Fox fanfare. There was no logical reason why the last 3 Bond films dropped the gun barrel. It would be as if Episodes VII-IX dropped the "A long time ago". Now that WOULD be sacrilege.

I actually could care less if it's released in December, it would take me about a minute to get over it and it does make sense from Disney's perspective, but considering the source is Deavin from badass digets who basically does anti Abrams and Star Wars flame bait articles and malicious rumours constantly, I kinda doubt it. Consider the source and all that.

As long as Jar Jar doesn't come flying out of the Disney Castle babbling "Meeeesa mooey happy to beeee here! Mesa your humble servant!" During the studio credits at the beginning I don't care if its released at Christmas. Oke day?

The kid inside of me who pretended to be Ben Kenobi whenever he wore a bathrobe and wielded a blue broomstick handle as a lightsaber would like to see Episode VII released in May, just because that means I'd get to see it sooner. But the part of me who'd like to see a GOOD Star Wars movie has no problem waiting the extra half-year if it means everyone takes their time crafting a great film.

Though I AM already seeing people on Facebook claiming that this is just another example of how Disney will ruin Star Wars. Mind you, these same people had huge problems with Disney buying Marvel a few years ago, but they all love The Avengers.

This may turn out to be a savvy decision, as the past decade has shown that there's been an increasing glut of mainstream multiplex fare in the summer, reaching almost critical mass this season, and that there's also been a potential opening for blockbuster counterprorgamming to the usual end-of-the-year Oscar bait, which can also increase a movie's prestige factor just from good company. "Titanic", LOTR and "Avatar" all benefitted financially and critically from those factors, and frankly in ways that helped cover up their own faults. It almost seems inevitable that the new "Star Wars" movies will follow suit, and maybe even feels a little bit like cheating, considering how the Prequels succeeded at the box office (if not with critics-- who never really liked the series-- or the die-hard radical purists-- who were never going to be happy with anything). So I can see the rationale to do this, even if it comes up sounding somewhat ominous.

Is there a war between Devin Faraci and the mighty Harry Knowles/Drew McWeeny duo who dominated fanboy news for so long? I noticed recently Knowles dismissed a Faraci rumor about Star Trek as "terrible reporting," and now McWeeny opens his report with a bit of a dismissive mention of the boy Faraci.

Not sure I'd call in open warfare but Faraci is certainly an antagonistic personality compared to Knowles and McWeeny but to be fair, Devin does really give off an anti-Abrams vibe to his reporting which is probably due to the reboot of 'Trek'

I have no idea who "Devini" is but I tend to think that any alleged anti-Abrams vibe comes from the reality that Abrams is a hack that makes forgettable fluff at best and outright unintelligible crap at worse. After the last Star Trek I give the benefit of the doubt to the haters.

What a weird series of misreadings this comment section is made up of. I didn't dismiss Devin at the start of this. Don't try to stir up some issue when there isn't any.

All I mentioned is that the rumors about this date are rumors I've also heard, and I was surprised Devin printed it. He must have some secondary source beyond the initial one. If that seems dismissive to you, I think you're working too hard to see antagonism where there isn't any.

If it's released in December hopefully stores will stock "Star Wars" blankets for the fans camping outside theaters for a month. Disney should create new music for their logo that has a similar dynamic to the Fox fanfare. That could give Michael Giacchino something to do.

I was thinking the same thing! Granted, a GOOD Star Wars movie, should be first and foremost! With that being said, isn't one of the GREAT traditions of Star Wars being people lining up hours, days, hell months, ahead of time to be the first to see it? There are a LOT of places that get mighty cold in December! I'd hate to take that away from those that really love to do it!

Drew, are they filming any of the action sequences in IMAX? I can't imagine a Star Wars picture not utilizing the best possible picture and sound options available, and to me, IMAX seems like a no-brainer for this universe.

I would hope not, myself. I can't imagine a Star Wars picture that isn't shot in 2.35:1 start to finish. It would be as much a betrayal of the overall aesthetics of the series as suddenly deciding to shoot it in black and white, or a smaller aspect ratio like 1.77 (which is what IMAX amounts to, in the long run). And as much as I enjoyed stuff like the IMAX portions of the Dark Knight movies, it's a gimmick I don't like overall, as all it really does is turn a movie into a thirty dollar price-tag. It's already shooting in native 3D, which'll make it expensive enough. Please no.

I'm sure there will be releases both ways, too. The question is whether or not anything actually gets shot in IMAX, or if it'll just be showing regular 2.35 footage on an IMAX screen. And I'd hope that there won't be a break with the aspect ratio of all 6 films prior to this one just for the sake of spectacle.

I was burned by the prequels. I just thought that were a huge missed opportunity and amplified everything I disliked about the OT (which was mostly the goofy parts of 'Return of the Jedi') and disregarded the badass and more mature portions of 'Star Wars' and 'Empire Strikes Back'. If moving it to December gives the creative team more time to produce something of quality then I'm all for it.

I really have faith in JJ Abrams. He's a talented filmmaker and with the right script he could do wonders. Another reason is that even when doing press for 'Trek' he would recount how he was 'Star Wars' kid growing up. This is the film he wanted to do so I hope he takes the property and does what we hope all lifelong franchise fans would do: A 'Star Wars' movie for 'Star Wars' fans by 'Star Wars' fans.

Passion projects don't always turn out for the best. Although I loved it, many people were turned off by Peter Jackson's indulgent King Kong remake. And will the pressure of delivering on something Abrams revered as a child result in a movie that plays it safe or folds under too many constraints?

Despite that, it is exciting to think about what a Star Wars movie will look like directed by someone who actually loves Star Wars.

I genuinely don't understand the tying of certain types of films to certain times of the year. Films come out when they come out.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. In Australia, we can get Hollywood films months later, or a week before, or day and date, but -- aside from the brief amount of fanfare fifteen years ago tying Will Smith films into July 4 -- I couldn't really tell you which time of the year any big film came out. So maybe it's just me.

Very definitely different types of "seasons" for movies in the U.S. Summer is traditionally held for blockbusters, tentpoles, and franchise films. (Though, summer seems to start earlier and earlier, stretching now from April through August.) The fall and into early winter is designated "awards" period, when studios released their dramas that are expected to garner the most buzz heading into the awards season at the tail end of the year and into the beginning of the next. Late August and September are considered dumping grounds for films, particularly high concept films. Late winter and into spring is also considered a dumping ground, but it's more for lesser dramas and romantic comedies. It's not to say some films won't strike and succeed at those times, but there often isn't big box office. And, of course, holidays are considered a second summer of sorts, stretching from the end of November through the end of December when people take vacations and often find themselves at the movies.

Yep, there are very clear marketing times for films in the U.S. domestic market.

I think -- for me, at least -- what it comes down is the fact that there are two seasons for big H'wood blockbusters. Summer and Christmas. When you combine that with the fact that we often get staggered releases, what you end up with in Australia at any rate is blockbusters the year round.

That said, everything you typed is certainly familiar to me, and is very broadly echoed over here. I think what it comes down to for me is the idea that a specific film coming out at a specific time of year is weird. Or when critics talk about "Isn't it weird this film coming out in March?". I just don't have an association like that. This despite reporting on movies for over a decade now!

Interesting stuff. Been meaning to ask for a while, and this seemed like a good excuse to.

Firstly, glad it's got more time. Other than that, it makes no difference what-so-ever when it comes out. Other than conforming to history - there is no reason to pick one day over another.

It's Star Wars - what ever day it comes out, it is THE blockbuster.

I hope they've been working on it already and nobody knows about it. I doubt it, but it'd be great if they pulled that off.

They managed to keep the sale of it and talk of future films completely silent until it was announced. Keeping a production of any scale under wraps is another story, but maybe, just maybe it's somewhat under way already.

I've been saying this all along, honestly! It makes so much sense on so many levels; it takes Episode VII out of the already-severely-overcrowded summer, it gives the production team valuable additional months to get the film as good as they can possibly make it, and it gives them the lucrative Christmas holiday market all to themselves for an entire month with little to no real competition! And one of the interesting consequences of a December-released 'Star Wars' trilogy is that it will face-off against the 'Avatar' sequels from 2017 onward... clash of the titans indeed!

Great reporting on E7 thus far, Drew dude, keep up the sterling work... any other inside details on the model-building going on at ILM right now?

I know this might seem like a thing. It kinda looks like a thing. It has several thing-like features. Some people may think it's a big thing, but in reality it's not a big thing. It's not even a thing at all.